It's now only 10 days until David Beckham's loan to Italian AC Milan was supposed to come to an end, and yet here American soccer fans sit, counting down the final hours until the "Beckham Era" is put out of its misery.

As the New York Times' Jeffrey Marcus writes, according to an A.C. Milan official, "three-way negotiations involving the club, the Galaxy and Beckham's representatives were continuing," but MLS marketers and execs aren't holding their breath, especially with seemingly daily comments from Beckham like this latest: "from what has been said, I gather there could be good news." Good news meaning, of course, that he won't have to return to the States.

According to AC Milan VP Adriano Galliani, there are three distinct scenarios that could take place in the next week. "He will return to Los Angeles on March 9, or he will remain [with Milan] until May 31, or rather he will remain with us until June 2010. I hope for the third hypothesis," added Galliani. And as Marcus puts it, "So does Beckham."